A Summary of major Construction Projects

The vast majority of the work to improve railway lines, which impacts on the frequency and journey times info as per the journey guides, is completed over one Sat/Sun period.
So if you can't find a usual route or a train departure online, it can be worth having a look at the links to the national construction work, which you will find below.
You may then have to translate what you'll find, but it can be worth the effort to discover what's occurring and to glean whether you'll need to take a bus for part of the journey, or whether trains are being diverted.
Alterations to the usual service are often not particularly obvious when looking up the journey on a ticket booking service.

The information included below is a guide to the the more extensive construction projects which are impacting on train services for a week or more.
Therefore these are the projects which are good to be aware of if you're planning a rail pass itinerary and want to avoid any hassle, or are wondering why a typical connection isn't available on multiple dates.

These are the upcoming rail construction projects which;

• last more than a weekend, so also impact on Monday to Friday travel
• affect long-distance express trains
• result in trains being diverted, with longer journey times (which impacts on connections)
• Or, are being substituted by buses for part of the journey.

TGVs from/to Paris Montparnasse

The lines used by the TGV trains on the 'Atlantique' routes between Paris and Bordeaux, Rennes and Toulouse are being periodically disrupted at different construction sites until early December.

Much of the scheduled work is taking place over single weekends, but the work over multiple dates includes:

(1) On most weekends in November, the TGVs on the Paris <> Toulouse route in both directions will have Agen or Bordeaux as their origin/terminus station.
Replacement coaches will be set up between Agen and Toulouse and between Bordeaux and Toulouse.
This work will also lead to the Bordeaux <> Marseille trains being turned around in Toulouse on the relevant dates.

(2) Over the weekends of November 4/5 and 11/12 the Paris-Est station will not be accessible to TGVs. Alternatively the trains will be arriving and departing at Paris-Nord station, 500 m away.
As a consequence tickets for journeys on these dates have yet to be placed on sale.

An overview of major construction projects can be found on the German language version of the DB website - so use Google Translate if need be.

1: The high speed line between between Kassel and Fulda

Until March 1st, a key section of the primary north<>south high-speed line in Germany is closed due to renewal works.
During the this time, the ICE trains travelling between Kassel and Gotlingen will be diverted on to the older classic line, which the high-speed route avoids.

The (Kiel) - Hamburg or Bremen - Hannover - Kassel - Wurzburg - Nurnberg - (Augsburg) - Munchen services will be diverted on to a slower route.
During this time these trains will mainly depart at their usual time and operate at their usual schedules between Munchen and Fulda when heading north; and between Hamburg/Bremen and Kassel when heading south, but the diversion will add around 60 mins to the journey time.
As a result trains from Munchen will arrive at Kassel, Gottingen, Hannover, Bremen. Hamburg and destinations north of Hamburg around an hour later than the usual timetable.
In the opposite direction heading south, trains from Bremen, Hamburg and Hannover, will arrive into Fulda, Wurzburg, Nurnberg and Munchen an hour later than the usual time.

However, in order to minimize disruption to arrival and departures at the extremities of the ICE routes, particularly in Switzerland, the long-standing routes of many ICE services are to be drastically altered until December 9th.

1. ICE route 12 is the Berlin - Wolfsburg - Braunschweig - Kassel - Frankfurt (Main) ↔ Mannheim - Karlsruhe, Freiburg - Basel - Olten Bern - Interlaken route.
   However,the trains on this route are turning round Frankfurt (Main); and taking an alternative route between Kassel and Frankfurt.

2. ICE route 20 is the Hamburg - Hannover - Kassel - Frankfurt (Main) ↔ Mannheim - Karlsruhe, Freiburg - Basel - Zurich - Chur route.
   However, it has had its Swiss destinations switched so that it takes over the Germany ↔ Olten - Bern - Interlaken service of route 12, instead of its calls in Zurich, Landquart and Chur.
   It is also be around 45 mins slower on the part of the route between Hannover and Frankfurt (Main).
   So the current 1 x train per day on the Hamburg ↔ Interlaken route has temporarily become a three trains per day service, with other departures being turned around in Basel.

3. The Germany ↔ Zurich - Landquart - Chur service usually provided by route 20 is being covered by a major change to route 11.
   Route 11 usually takes a Berlin - Leipzig - Erfurt - Frankfurt (Main) ↔ Mannheim - Stuttgart - Ulm - Augsburg - München route.
   However, it is currently taking a Berlin - Leipzig - Erfurt - Frankfurt (Main) ↔ Mannheim - Karlsruhe - Freiburg - Basel - Zurich (Landquart - Chur) route.
   As a result the Germany ↔ Zurich route is being covered by trains which won't be on a route impacted by the works on the high-speed line.

4. The usual Frankfurt (Main) ↔ München section of route 11 is to be covered by a change to route 22.
   Instead of being a Hamburg - Hannover - Kassel - Frankfurt (Main) - Frankfurt Flughafen - ↔ Mannheim - Stuttgart route, it is already a
   Hamburg - Hannover - Kassel - Frankfurt (Main) ↔ Mannheim - Stuttgart - Ulm - Augsburg - München route.

5. So that a direct service can be maintained between Berlin and Stuttgart, route 15 is being extended beyond Frankfurt (Main) to provide a Berlin - Erfurt - Frankfurt (Main) - Frankfurt Flughafen ↔ Mannheim - Stuttgart route.

6. The route 13 service of Berlin - Kassel - Frankfurt (Sud) - Frankfurt Flughafen is being withdrawn on many dates.

2: Frankfurt (Main) Hbf / Frankfurt Flughafen ↔ Mannheim

The Riedbahn railway which connects one of the main hubs of the German rail system, Mannheim, with destinations to the north, is to be closed for improvement work in 2024 from January 1st to January 22nd and from July 15th to December 14th.
It is typically used by these regularly timetabled ICE trains, which on the usual timetable operate every two hours:

• Hamburg - Hannover - Kassel Frankfurt (Main) ↔ Mannheim - Karlsruhe - Basel - Zurich - Chur
• Berlin - Kassel Frankfurt (Main) ↔ Mannheim - Karlsruhe - Basel - Bern - Interlaken
• Berlin - Leipzig - Erfurt - Frankfurt (Main) - ↔ Mannheim - Stuttgart - Augsburg - Munich/Munchen
• Berlin - Erfurt - Frankfurt (Main) - Frankfurt Flughafen ↔ Mannheim - Stuttgart
• Dortmund - Dusseldorf - Cologne/Koln-Messe Deutz - Frankfurt Flughafen ↔ Mannheim - Stuttgart - Augsburg - Munich/Munchen
• Hamburg - Bremen - Dortmund - Dusseldorf - Cologne/Koln hbf - Frankfurt Flughafen ↔ Mannheim - Stuttgart - Augsburg - Munich/Munchen
• Hamburg - Bremen - Dortmund - Dusseldorf - Cologne/Koln hbf - Frankfurt Flughafen ↔ Mannheim - Karlsruhe - Basel

However, when the route is closed in January, the typical pattern for the regular ICE services will seemingly be:

• Hamburg - Hannover - Kassel Frankfurt (Main) - Mainz ↔ Mannheim - Karlsruhe - Basel - Bern - Interlaken
• Berlin - Kassel - Frankfurt (Main) ↔ Mannheim - Stuttgart
• Berlin - Erfurt - Frankfurt (Main) ↔ Mainz - Mannheim - Stuttgart - Augsburg - Munich/Munchen
• Berlin - Leipzig - Erfurt - Frankfurt (Main) - ↔ Mannheim - Karlsruhe - Basel - Zurich
• Dusseldorf - Cologne / Koln-Messe Deutz - Weisbaden - Mainz ↔ Mannheim - Stuttgart - Augsburg - Munich/Munchen
• Dusseldorf - Cologne / Koln-Messe Deutz - Weisbaden ↔ Mannheim - Karlsruhe - Basel
• Hamburg - Bremen - Dortmund - Dusseldorf Cologne / Koln hbf - Frankfurt Flughafen - Frankfurt (Main)
• Hamburg - Bremen - Dortmund - Dusseldorf - Cologne/Koln hbf - Frankfurt Flughafen ↔ Heidelberg - Stuttgart - Augsburg - Munich/Munchen

And presumably this will also be the service pattern from July 15th to December 14th.

3: On the Karlsruhe to Basel route:

From August 9th to August 30th, the route between Rastatt and Baden-Baden will be closed to rail traffic.
The ICE trains which usually travel between these locations are:

• Hamburg - Hannover - Kassel - Frankfurt (Main) - Karlsruhe - Basel - Zurich - Chur
• Berlin - Kassel - Frankfurt (Main) - Karlsruhe - Basel - Bern - Interlaken
• Hamburg - Bremen - Koln - Frankfurt Airport - Karlsruhe - Basel

An ICE train will run every hour from Basel SBB to Baden-Baden. Rail replacement buses will run between Baden-Baden and Rastatt.

Disruption at Ayr

On Monday 25 September, a property was on fire near the railway at Ay and some lines through the station, remain closed for safety reasons. Most trains are unable to run to, from or through Ayr and the disruption is expected until at least the end of the day on Saturday 13 January.
The following alterations will apply:

• Services between Glasgow Central and Ayr will run between Glasgow Central and Prestwick Town only. Some late night services may terminate at Kilwinning.
• A half hourly rail shuttle service will run between Ayr and Prestwick Town, to connect with existing services from there to Glasgow Central. The shuttle services will operate in and out of Platform 4 at Ayr station.
• Services between Stranraer and Glasgow Central / Kilmarnock / Ayr will run between Stranraer and Girvan only. Some trains on these routes may be cancelled in their entirety. Services between Kilmarnock / Ayr and Girvan are suspended.

At Cambridge: Dec 27th to Jan 1st

Services at Cambridge station will be impacted from December 27th to January 1st.

The following alterations will apply:

(1) Cross Country services on the Birmingham ↔ Stansted Airport route.

Wednesday 27 and Thursday 28 December:
CrossCountry - Buses will replace trains between Ely and Cambridge and between Cambridge and Stansted Airport.

Wednesday 27 and Thursday 28 December:
Buses will replace trains between Ely and Cambridge and between Cambridge and Stansted Airport.

Friday 29 December to Monday 1 January :
Buses will replace trains between Cambridge and Stansted Airport.

(2) Great Northern services on the London King's Cross ↔ Ely route.

Wednesday 27 and Thursday 28 December
Buses will replace trains between Royston and Cambridge North.

From Friday 29 December to Monday 1 January
Buses will replace trains between Royston and Cambridge.

From Wednesday 27 December to Monday 1 January
An additional direct bus service will operate between Royston and Cambridge North to connect with rail services to / from Kings Lynn.

(3) Thameslink services on the Brighton ↔ Cambridge route.

Wednesday 27 and Thursday 28 December
Buses will replace trains between Royston and Cambridge North.

From Friday 29 December to Monday 1 January
Buses will replace trains between Royston and Cambridge.

(4) Greater Anglia services on the London Liverpool Street ↔ Cambridge North route.

Wednesday 27 December to Monday 1 January:
Buses will replace trains between Audley End and Cambridge North via Cambridge.

(4) Greater Anglia services on the Cambridge ↔ Norwich route.

Wednesday 27 and Thursday 28 December:

Buses will replace trains between Cambridge and Cambridge North.

At Glasgow Queen Street: - Dec 27th to Jan 1st

Engineering work is taking place between Bishopbriggs and Stirling, closing some lines.

The following amendments will be in place:

24 December - Trains running to / from Glasgow Queen Street will be withdrawn before 20:00.
25 December – No service.
26 December – Limited train service in place on selected routes (avoiding routes impacted by engineering work) with no rail replacement.
27 – 31 December (main dates affected by engineering work):

• Glasgow Queen Street – Cumbernauld / Falkirk Grahamston will not run.
• Glasgow Queen Street – Alloa trains operates via Cumbernauld, calling all stations.
• Glasgow Queen Street– Edinburgh via Falkirk High trains diverted non-stop via Cumbernauld and calls at Falkirk Grahamston.
• Aberdeen / Inverness – Glasgow Queen Street trains terminate Perth / Stirling with combination of rail replacement buses and option to change trains at Stirling.
  31 December – Trains will be withdrawn before 22:00.
  1 January – No service.
  2 January – All routes will operate to an amended timetable.

The London ↔ Norwich route: Dec 27th to Jan 1st

Engineering work is taking place between Witham and Shenfield, closing all lines, hence no trains will run between Witham and Shenfield.
The route is taken by trains between London Liverpool Street and Norwich, Harwich, Ipswich, Clacton and Colchester.
Replacement buses will run between:

• Witham and Billericay (fast).
• Witham and Billericay via Hatfield Peverel / Chelmsford.
• Ingatestone and Chelmsford / Shenfield (for customers travelling to / from Ingatestone only).

Connecting train services will run between Billericay and Shenfield / Stratford / London Liverpool Street.

The route between Domodossola and Milano is being reconstructed over the next couple of years, so in 2024 the railway between Arona and Stresa is closed completely from June 9th to September 8th.

The Dovre Railway Line has suffered storm damage in multiple locations, including the collapse of a river bridge.
As a result there will be no direct trains to Trondheim from Oslo for some time.
Here are the details of the alternative travel arrangements.

1: Starting Monday, September 11, the transversal trains that connect Galicia with Catalonia will adjust their departure schedule after the summer period, remaining as follows:
ALVIA 621 Vigo Guixar (7:42 a.m.) – Barcelona Sants (9:35 p.m.)
Advances its departure to 7:20 a.m. Carry out the section between Ourense and Monforte de Lemos by road
ALVIA 622 Barcelona Sants (9:30 a.m.) – Vigo Guixar (11:35 p.m.)
Departure is brought forward to 9:05 a.m. Carry out the section between Monforte de Lemos and Ourense by road
ALVIA 625 A Coruña (8:05 a.m.) – Barcelona Sants (9:35 p.m.)
Departure is brought forward to 7:45 a.m. Carry out the section between Ourense and Monforte de Lemos by road
ALVIA 626 Barcelona Sants (9:30 a.m.) – A Coruña (10:54 p.m.)
Departure is brought forward to 9:05 a.m. Carry out the section between Monforte de Lemos and Ourense by road

2: Comprehensive renovation works on the Zaragoza-Huesca-Canfranc line, which cut rail traffic between Huesca and Canfranc until May 2024.
A bus substitution will be in place.

From September 25th 00:45) until December 3rd (06:00) the railway is closed between Helsingborg and Angelholm, as a result trains on the Gothenburg–Malmö–Copenhagen route will either be diverted on to a longer route or replaced by buses between these stations.

These are the upcoming major works on the railway lines, that will be impacting on international railway routes over sustained periods of time.

No TGVs will be serving Luxembourg station the following weekends:

• October 21/22nd
• October 28/29th
• November 11/12th
• November 18/19th
• November 25/26th
• December 2/3rd
• December 9/10th
  The trains will be substituted by buses between Luxembourg and either Metz or Thionville.

The Hamburg - Hannover - Kassel - Wurzburg - Nurnberg ↔ Linz - Wien/Vienna service is cancelled until December 9th, due to the maintenance work on the high speed line in Germany and in its place there will be an additional Dortmund - Koln - Bonn - Frankfurt (Main) - Wurzburg - Nurnberg ↔ Linz - Wien/Vienna service.

From Thursday, November 30th, 10:45pm. to Saturday, December 9th, 5:00am these trains will be calling at Cologne-Ehrenfeld station instead of at Cologne Hbf.

Due to construction work, some long-distance trains cannot run between Villach Hbf and Jesenice(SL) from September 18th untlil December 11, 2023 (4:20 p.m.). A rail replacement service with buses will be set up.
This may impact on these train services:
Villach ↔ Jesenice - Lesce-Bled - Ljubljana - Zagreb - Dobova
The Frankfurt (Main) - Munich - Salzburg - Villach ↔ Jesenice - Lesce-Bled - Ljubljana - Zagreb service has been split into two parts with connections in both directions required in Villach.

On Saturday and Sunday until December 6th the Nightjet train on the Wien / Vienna ↔ Firenze / Florence - Roma route will be calling at Firenze Campo Di Marte station instead of at Firenze S.M.Novella.

Until December 10th, 2023 construction work in Hungary is extending the Budapest ↔ Wien / Vienna by up to 30mins.
As result the trains R60, R62, R64, R66 and R68 will only be operating between Budapest and Wien / Vienna and won't be available between Wien / Vienna and Munchen / Munich.

The railway between Arona and Stresa is closed completely from June 9th to September 8th, so during these dates the following EC express train services will be turning around in Domodossola:
Geneve - Lausanne - Sion - Visp - Brig - Domodossola ↔ Stresa - Milano
Basel - Olten - Bern - Thun - Spiez - Visp - Brig - Domodossola ↔ Stresa -Milano

From August 10th to September 9th 2024 the railway across the Austria / Switzerland border between Buchs and Feldkich will be closed due to reconstruction work.
This is the route taken by the daytime Railjet trains on the Zurich ↔ Innsbruck - Salzburg - Wien - Budapest / Bratislava route.
The rail replacement services are to be arranged; presumably the niight trains between Zurich and Budapest, Wien and Zagreb will be diverted on to a much longer route.

From August 9th to August 30th 2024, the railway between Rastatt and Baden-Baden will be closed to rail traffic.
The ICE trains which usually travel between these locations are on these routes:

• Hamburg - Hannover - Kassel - Frankfurt (Main) - Karlsruhe - Basel - Zurich - Chur
• Berlin - Kassel - Frankfurt (Main) - Karlsruhe - Basel - Bern - Interlaken
• Hamburg - Bremen - Koln - Frankfurt Airport - Karlsruhe - Basel

An ICE train will run every hour from Basel SBB to Baden-Baden. Rail replacement buses will run between Baden-Baden and Rastatt.